The good guys - Johann Krauss, Abe Sapien, Hellboy, and Liz battle the evil Prince Nuada. Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

In 2004, visionary writer/director Guillermo del Toro brought Mike Mignola's comic-book hero Hellboy to the screen. The overly muscled occult detective, complete with horns, tail, and hard-boiled attitude, was an everyman whose become a favorite of fans around the world, including del Toro. Del Toro introduced the reluctant crimefighter to a global audience with the feature "Hellboy," and his film's wit, action, and ingenious practical effects launched a critical and commercial hit for comic lovers and general audiences alike.

The filmmaker's epic odyssey continues with the action-thriller "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," the feature follow-up to his 2006 triple Oscar-winning masterpiece "Pan's Labyrinth." Bringing bigger muscle, badder weapons, multitudes of monsters, and a little domestic conflict at home, the favorite kitten-loving red hero, played again by Ron Perlman, is back - and this time, he kicks even more evil ass.

Hellboy fights the good fight when duty calls from his employer: the top-secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (a clandestine agency also known as the BPRD). His bureau was created in 1943 by President Franklin Roosevelt and uses secret technology, mysterious powers and a network of operatives with otherworldly powers to defend the world against the more violent supernatural. He would, however, much rather kick back with a cigar, six-pack, his pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), and their clutter of cats. But destiny has bigger plans for them.

After an ancient truce between humankind and the original sons of the Earth is broken, all hell is about to break loose. The anarchical underworld Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) has grown weary of centuries of deference to mankind. He plots to awaken a long-dormant army of killing machines that will return what belongs to his people; all magical creatures shall finally be free to roam again. Now, only Hellboy can stop the dark ruler and save our world from annihilation.

Ron Perlman as Hellboy with his 'Big Baby'.

Joining the wise-cracking, amber-eyed demon and his flammable girlfriend are returning principal "Hellboy" cast - including the bureau's brilliant aquatic empath Abe Sapien (Doug jones) and BPRD bureaucrat Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor). Acclaimed actor John Hurt is also back for the latest chapter in the franchise as Hellboy's surrogate dad (and savior from the Nazis) Professor Trevor Broom. New to the team is the now public face of the formerly clandestine BPRD, protoplasmic mystic Johann Krauss. Krauss is voiced by Seth MacFarlane, creator of FOX's smash-hit "Family Guy" and the man behind many of that show's signature voices.

Nuada's merciless drive for revenge is balanced by the regal compassion of his twin, the ethereal beauty Princess Nuala (Ann Walton). Roy Dotrice plays their anguished father King Balor and Brian Steele portrays the prince's henchman Mr. Wink, plus multiple additional characters in del Toro's world. Movement artist Jones joins Steele in portraying assorted practical-effects beasts, including the king's highest court Chamberlain and the stunning creature that is the Angel of Death.

For this battle, the BPRD must travel between the surface strata of the humans and the hidden magical one, where creatures of fantasy rule; and Hellboy, a creature of both worlds who's accepted by neither, must choose between the life he knows and an unknown destiny that beckons.

With a screenplay by del Toro, the "Hellboy II" screen story was written by del Toro and Mignola, based upon the Dark Horse comic book created by co-executive producer Mignola. Also returning for the film are noted producers Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, and president and founder of Dark Horse Comics Mike Richardson.

Born in the flames of hell and brought to Earth as an infant to perpetrate evil, Hellboy was rescued from occult Nazi forces by the benevolent Dr. Trevor Broom, who raised him to be the unlikeliest of heroes. Now, it's up to the planet's toughest, roughest, kitten-loving superhero to battle a merciless prince and his army of marauders. He may be red, horned, and misunderstood, but when you need the job done right, it's time to call in Hellboy. It doesn't hurt that the enormous red bruiser brings his right hand of doom - a virtual "sledgehammer" in the form of an invulnerable red stone attached to his forearm. If that doesn't do the trick, he's got "Big Baby," a shotgun/revolver hybrid with bullets as big as, well, baby food jars.

Director Guillermo del Toro on the set.

Hellboy's first adventures were published by Dark Horse Comics in 1994. Guillermo del Toro's debut as a feature film director came a year earlier with the critically acclaimed horror film "Cronos," starring Ron Perlman as a thug in search of an immortality device. As del Toro's work gained international attention, he kept his eye on Mignola's creation as a possible future project.

"I had always been a Mike Mignola fan," the director offered. "I fell in love with the brooding, Gothic, atmospheric work he was doing. When I was shooting "Mimic," in 1997, the best part of the day was going to the comic book shop to look for more Hellboy issues. By then, I thought it was taking a direction that made sense for a movie."

Del Toro admitted he envisioned a filmed version of Hellboy just the way that Mignola wrote him in his comics: "a blue-collar guy - a plumber or an electrician - who comes in with a box of tools and says, 'Where is the leak?' and goes at fixing the leak. But he is a very jaded, reluctant investigator; his method of investigation is to beat the crap out of a monster."

The filmmaker's interest in turning the demon into a film star surprised the pragmatic Mignola, who thought the tales of his antiheroes would forever stay on the page. "I never in a billion years believed Hellboy would be a movie, and when it was discussed, I said, 'Sure, good luck.' But when I met Guillermo, I knew right away that if anyone was going to do it, I sure as hell hoped it would be him. We agreed right away that Hellboy had to be Ron Perlman."

In a world of caped heroes who sport chiseled good looks and profess all-American values, audiences found it refreshing to have a good guy look so, well, bad. According to Mike Richardson, "Hellboy is not your traditional superhero. This is a character who has horns and a tail and looks like the devil; he shaves his horns off to try and look as human as possible. He's a blue-collar hero who just wants to be one of us."

During the five years of development before "Hellboy" was greenlit the creative team behind the project kept its focus. "In this period, a number of offers to make 'Hellboy' came in," recalled Lawrence Gordon, "but it was about five years before Guillermo had the commercial track record for us to get the movie made in the way he imagined it. His artistic credibility and success in the films he created during that time - "The Devil's Backbone" and "Blade" clinched that."

The first film, starring Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, and Jeffrey Tambor as members of the elite BPRD, was produced by Revolution Studios with Dark Horse Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon Productions, and Starlite Films. It was met with solid commercial success and achieved $100 million at the global box office, as well as finding an enormous audience through DVD sales.

Selma Blair as Liz with Ron Perlman as Hellboy.

Saving the world is a hell of a job, but Hellboy is ready; it's what he was born to do. Help comes to Red with an assortment of fellow freaks, ensconced in a high-tech bunker at the BPRD's New Jersey headquarters. Officially, the organization doesn't exist, but a few stunned civilians have glimpsed the burly red gunslinger and his otherwordly cohorts in action. And like it or not, it's time Hellboy met the public.

When last we met, Hellboy had saved humanity from a centuries-old mad monk who was hell-bent on raining destruction upon Earth. Now, he's about to face a prince who's been biding his time until he can lead the creatures of the dark to take back what used to be theirs. On the personal front, Hellboy is having an even tougher time at home. He and Liz (Blair) have been together for about a year, and the honeymoon is decidedly over.

With the script in place, the filmmakers would begin the search for the monsters and freaks who fit naturally into Hellboy's universe. Fortunately, it took little more than a phone call to get the close-knit original cast back in their BPRD uniforms.

"Hellboy" wouldn't be "Hellboy" without Ron Perlman returning in the title role. Fortunately, the actor was up for getting back into the boots of his favorite role, a character he describes as "a complete underachieving, lazy slob…a beer-drinking, football-watching average American guy who has no desire to be a superhero." Explained Perlman, "He just happens to have these abilities commensurate with where he's from and who he is. His idea of a perfect day is pizza and beer and watching the Three Stooges and Marx Brothers movies. His extraordinary superhuman traits are coincidental and not something he aspires to."

Perlman also looked forward to working again with his longtime director; of del Toro, he stated, "The depth of his intellect and accumulated knowledge, based on this voracious curiosity to read anything about why people need to tell stories - including all types of mythology from all cultures - is what sets him apart." Also, he agreed with the filmmaker's fascination to tell this type of story. "Guillermo is a great storyteller because he understands the need for people to pass down fables and myths, as well as to look at the huge errors that are made by humans as a result of their frailties and vulnerabilities."